The Gloves Are Off
by Boisterous Hal
Summary: After Nathan insults Peter, they both get into a boxing ring and slug it out. Peter gets knocked out, and Gabriel - Peter's husband - jumps in to save the day. AU - characters have no abilities. Mild slash - Peter/Sylar .


Summary: After Nathan insults Peter, they both get into a boxing ring and slug it out. Peter gets knocked out, and Gabriel (Peter's husband) jumps in to save the day. AU (characters have no abilities) and mild slash (Peter/Sylar).

Pairings: Peter/Sylar and Nathan/Peter (if you squint).

Warning: Strong violence and mild slash.

Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes. Also, this rather random FF was inspired by an excellent film I watched recently called "Streets of Gold" (1986), starring Adrian Pasdar ("Nathan Petrelli") as a boxer. If you're interested in finding out more about SoG, read my film review (remove the spaces) at http:// www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0092022/ usercomments-5

I also have to thank petrelli heiress. If I hadn't read her excellent Peter/Sylar FF's, I never would have thought to pair them.

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**The Gloves Are Off**

Peter sized up his brother. He bristled at the memory of the insults that Nathan had hurled at him yesterday morning. Terrible things about male nurses, Peter's husband, and other insults that can't be repeated. Peter didn't hesitate to growl, "You and me, tomorrow. Let's box," and Nathan used all of five microseconds to think before he accepted.

Nathan ran a lucrative and highly illegal boxing club down in the Bronx. Being a senator, he should have known better, but Nathan was as corrupted as they came. He had even participated in a few fights himself, some against kids half his age, and won all of his bouts.

Now, after seeing a shirtless Nathan standing before him, putting up his gloves and ready to fight, Peter was thinking that maybe it was a mistake to challenge Nathan to a fight. His brother might have been 13 years Peter's senior, but he was still perfectly conditioned and well equipped to lay the smack down. If Peter hadn't been so mad at Nathan, he might have felt proud that his brother was still in great shape.

Oh well, it was too late to back out now. The two brothers glared at each other and knocked gloves. The crowd roared, to the various shouts of encouragement of "Go, Peter!" and "Kick his ass, Nathan!"

The boxers circled and jabbed at each other for a while. Neither had the advantage. The elder Petrelli shouted, "Is that you all you've got, Peter?!" which made Peter more determined than ever to teach his brother a lesson. Peter swung wildly. Unfortunately, he telegraphed this to Nathan, and he dodged Peter's attacks with ease. Now it was his turn to go on the attack. Nathan hooked a glove right into Peter's temple, sending him straight to the floor. The crowd went wild.

"Is that all you've got?" Nathan shouted again. Peter responded by groaning, and lay still.

Nathan might have gotten the better of his younger brother, but he didn't count on Gabriel, watching only a few feet away near the back of the crowd. Thanking God that he already had his gloves on, he ripped off his vest. He quickly pushed his way to the front of the crowd, and got into the ring. Stepping between Nathan and an unmoving Peter, he glared at Nathan.

Gabriel, at six foot-two inches tall, was a towering volcano of testosterone. Both of the Petrelli brothers were seething volcanoes of testosterone in their own right, but were not as tall as Gabriel.

"Leave my husband alone. Your fight is with me now," Gabriel said, in a dangerous tone.

Nathan responded by laughing. "You never deserved Peter as a husband. Why don't you go eat brains in the dumpster, where you belong, Gabriel?"

Gabriel let out an animalistic howl, and charged forward with amazing speed. The crowd gasped, and some enthusiastic shouts of "Gabriel! Gabriel!" were heard. He pummeled Nathan relentlessly, and Nathan didn't stand a chance as a hook to the cheek sent the Petrelli to the floor. Gabriel wasn't finished, as he whacked Nathan repeatedly in the head, knocking him out cold. Gabriel was pulled away by the referee and a few members of the crowd. Peter was disqualified for Gabriel's interference, but Gabriel didn't care. He was over the moon that he had given that senatorial scum a taste of his own medicine.

Gabriel ripped off his gloves, kneeled beside Peter and shook him gently. Peter had been cut over the left eyebrow where Nathan had hit him, but despite that, he still looked beautiful. "Peter? Peter!"

Peter's eyes fluttered open. "Gabriel? Nathan was..."

"Don't worry about Nathan," Gabriel interjected. "He's not going to hurt us any more."

Peter smiled. "How sweet...your voice...sounds to me," he slurred, before blacking out again.

"Make some room for us!" Gabriel shouted, before he lifted Peter and carried him out the main doors. The crowd was chanting "Gabriel! Gabriel! Gabriel!" by now, but Gabriel ignored them as his only thought was to get Peter to a place of safety.

"I'm going to take good care of you, Peter," Gabriel said tenderly to his unconscious-but-still-breathing husband. Back at home, Peter received the best tender loving care that any man could receive. He never forgot the heroic actions of Gabriel on that night.

THE END

**Don't get me wrong, I love Nathan as a character. Some of his actions on the TV show have made me wanna beat the living daylights out of him though, which is part of the reason why I made him villainous. Please review.**


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